A Journey towards the Summit
by HitsuWTG
Summary: Brian, third child of a family obsessed with the various Yggdrasil labyrinths around the world as well as a Dragoon, heads towards the city of Iorys - all in order to fulfill a life-long dream of becoming an explorer himself. With the dangers of the labyrinth and the daily insanity that life in the guild Accord brings with it however, he sure has work cut out for himself...
1. The city of Iorys, April 3032

The land of Arcania, home to a towering tree that people of all races reverently called the Arcanian Yggdrasil. A tree so enormous, that legends about it kept coming up – the apex of the tree being capable of reaching the heavens, and that in the labyrinth within it, one could find everything one's heart would desire. Incredible riches, the power to slay even the strongest monster, some even claimed that the answers to all the questions about the universe laid somewhere within this place. Though not the only place on the planet to have such a tree, something kept people flocking over to Iorys, the capital of Arcania. Long has the endeavor to scale Yggdrasil and uncover its mysteries been blocked by the council of Iorys, hoping to prevent past tragedies of the deadly labyrinth to repeat themselves, only for them to reopen the labyrinth once more in recent years. In light of a legendary guild named Victory conquering another of the planet's Yggdrasil labyrinths, the golden age of exploration started off once anew in the city of Iorys – and among all the people rushing towards this new challenge, one particular man embarked on a journey of his own, hoping to accomplish just what Victory's leader did elsewhere...

It was the beginning of April when it all started. On the outskirts of Iorys, two guards kept gazing into the distant skies. The evening was approaching, the horizon already dyed in an orange that would tell anyone that the sun was about to go down sooner or later. Nothing of consequence happened at this particular outpost, not even the occasional monster attack or even a crime within the city walls. Everybody living close to it knew each other, and while the occasional explorer from the outside would cross through the city gates in this place, most of them wouldn't be here for long – if they would even pick this gate to enter the city in the first place.

"You ready to call it a day? Want to close the gate for today and switch shifts with somebody else?"

The guard who spoke up, somebody on the small side for somebody his age, clapped his hand for a moment, trying to squash a fly that bothered him for the last few minutes. Just like every other day, nothing at all happened in this place, aside from a bug infestation that seemed to always come without fail whenever this time of the year was approaching.

"Well, I see no reason why not. The sooner I get out of this armor, the better. Egar's not going to like it when we head off early, but it's not like he needs to know. You taking the left side, me the right one?" With a short nod the other man, a slightly pudgy individual, signalized that he would take the offer – without even waiting for the reply, he was already heading up the stairs towards the right half of the city walls, where the switch to close the city gates was located. Minutes passed as he watched the gates slowly close themselves from above – if any of those would ever need to close quickly because of a monster attack from the outside, the city might as well be done for already. But there has never been an instance of that, so in his own opinion, closing the gates was a more or less pointless action that only served as a ritual of sorts.

"Hey, Ed, wait a second! Looks like somebody's coming from that direction!"

The pudgy guard immediately snapped out of his thoughts when his partner called him back to reality. Something about somebody coming over? Before he knew it, his partner shouted once more.

"Come on, stop that gate for a bit, or it's going to be a pain to open again in a few minutes!"

That one sunk in a little better. Flipping the switch once more to stop the closing process for a bit, Ed inspected the plains just outside the city for a moment, searching for any kind of life sign that might be out there (after all it wouldn't have been the first time his partner played a prank on him). And indeed, almost immediately he spotted a man in armor, carrying a huge backpack and frantically waving towards the guards as he rushed onwards.

Scratching his chin, Ed just thought: "Well color me surprised, some people go through the sticks after all when they come to Iorys..."

* * *

"So, you're here to explore Yggdrasil, mister...?"

The man, still out of breath from all the running he did those last few minutes, could only pant as he listened to the guards greeting him. His right hand on his knee to support his upper body, the young man held out his left hand in order to signalize them that they should slow down for a moment in order for him to catch his breath. Minutes passed, with things even looking like the man was ready to puke for a moment, before he eventually recomposed himself after all. The sun already went down by that point, covering Iorys in the embrace of the early night.

"I... Y-yeah, I'm here to explore Yggdrasil. G-give me a minute or two, then I'll explain."

Again, he supported his upper body, this time by leaning against a wall, before finally getting up once more to remove his armor.

"I'd like to sign up as an explorer here in Iorys. Coming from... well, the place ain't that important, but let's say it's pretty far away. You guys familiar with where Tharsis and Lagaard are? Somewhere between those two places, that's all that's important for now. Had the feeling Lagaard is going to be conquered by a guild soon, so even if it's a bit far away, I figured I'd try my luck here in Iorys. Wait a sec, I'm going to hand you the necessary papers right now..."

Rummaging through his enormous backpack, he pulled out one item after another. Rations, a pot, a sleeping bag – several items that a guy who traveled as far as him just to get to Iorys would need, considering that the location the man described was pretty much at the other end of the planet. For the first time since he arrived, the guards now had the opportunity to give him a closer inspection. From what they could tell, his arms were covered with light bruises all over, and while they could not tell due to him wearing long pants, they suspected it was much the same with his legs – whatever happened, he must have had a pretty eventful journey to even reach this place, making them wonder whether he'd even last in the labyrinth for long in the first place. Next, his hair caught their attention. Not necessarily due to its disheveled nature, considering that this was probably the doing of the winds outside, but rather its color, one that was barely seen in Iorys even with the huge influx of new adventurers. If they didn't know any better, they'd have compared it to rust of all things, one that they only saw on a famous explorer from the city of Tharsis before.

"Here, that should be everything!". Without further ado, the man held out a stack of letters, letters that they assumed would be the documents that he had to fill out when he entered the country of Arcania. Taking them, the small guard scanned over them for a few minutes in the light of the city lanterns, before giving the man a questioning look.

"That looks less like your documents and more like personal letters to me. I can't read that language, I wouldn't be able to tell whether I'm actually right with that assumption. Mind handing us the actual documents? Or else we'd have to throw you out until you come again with those, and well... I'm pretty certain neither of us wants to do that." The man's eyes went wide for a moment, before he rubbed the back of his head out of embarrassment and took the letters back.

"Ahahaha, better forget you saw those. Those are from my younger sis, it's a bit embarassing to let other people read those. Must have mixed them up, chances are the documents are where I usually keep the letters then."

Putting the stash of letters back into the bag for a moment, a photo slipped out without him noticing. As he kept digging through the bag, Ed picked up the photo, looking at it with curiousity. Depicted were a group of five, three girls and two guys, with the city of Lagaard and its Yggdrasil tree as the backdrop. Going by the hair colors of the people depicted, he assumed that the smallest woman, one even smaller than his partner from the look of things, was the sister of the mysterious man. They looked like a guild of explorers to him. _"Ah, so that's what he meant by saying Lagaard's Yggdrasil will be conquered soon. Must be nice, having so much trust in family members."_ , he simply muttered to himself.

As the man finally handed them the real stash of letters, the guard returned the photo to him.

"Cherish your sister once the two of you return. The labyrinth might look like a shortcut to glory, but don't forget what happens when you die in there and leave those close to you behind."

The smaller guard, Ed's partner, was inspecting the documents as Ed started up a chat with the man. "I think the two of us will be fine. Exploring kind of runs in the blood, I guess. My big bro would have become an explorer himself if things went a little differently, and my older sister's an explorer too. Ah, don't worry, my bro's still alive! Just not quite in the physical condition to challenge the labyrinth, so he has to sit out. I've gotten some pointers from my big sis, so I should manage. Not exactly the coolest thing to do, relying so much on your sister, but heh, I don't mind. The labyrinth isn't exactly treating the cool ones better than the others."

Nodding in approval, Ed looked back to his partner for a moment, who just finished skimming the documents and nodded as well. "Well, alright then, mister Brian Schmidt. Everything checks out, so we see no further reason to keep you here. You might want to give the Explorers Guild a visit first. Just head straight to the south from here, until you reach the center. People call it the 'city of seven hills' sometimes, so even if you get lost, you just need to ask somebody and they can point you to it. The main building of the Explorers Guild can't be missed, you'll be able to recognize it by the crowds of adventurers close to it. I'd recommend greeting the head there first, a guy named Egar. Clad in a black armor, much like you. He's got a fairly powerful presence, so chances are you'll spot him right away. Anything else I'm missing? Let me think for a couple of seconds..."

Noticing the opportunity, Ed interrupted his partner to say something himself. "And if possible, lay in some good words about us. Egar's also in charge of the city guards, so it'd be nice to have him off our case for a- OUCH! Damn it, don't ram your elbow into my ribs like that, partner!" Brian couldn't help but to laugh – he knew that some people always had some other intentions at the back of their mind, but he never quite saw somebody who has been so forward with them. Shaking their hands for a moment, he then put on his armor once more, having replenished enough of his stamina to walk again. He'd find an inn first, maybe visit a bar for the evening, and then visit the Explorers Guild first thing in the morning.

"Have a nice evening, gentlemen from the city guard!". That was the last thing the two guards heard from the strange fellow that night before he took off. Both of them had a feeling that his name sounded familiar – that his hair color and last name reminded them a lot of an explorer called Erika Schmidt, the woman who conquered the Yggdrasil of Tharsis with her guild Victory. But that name was common in the country the man said he was from, so they dismissed it as a coincidence. The evening just started, and they had to find some other guard who'd take over their shift if they wanted to get any sleep for today...

Meanwhile, Brian walked through the streets of Iorys towards the heart of the city, strolling underneath the light of the lanterns. In his right hand, there was a photo that he took from the breast pocket of his shirt before he put on the armor again. On it, two boys and two girls, neither of them any older than 18 years old. A boy being supported by a pair of crutches, presumably the oldest of them. An energetic girl, hugging the youngest girl from behind, right next to him. And at the very left of the picture, there was him – or at the least how he looked like all those years ago. Despite the cheerfulness of the scene, he knew that the older boy in the picture wasn't into it at all. As if not wanting to see it any longer, he flipped the photo, revealing the title and date of the picture.

 _"November 3021, Schmidt siblings. Friedrich, Erika, Brian and Erin."_ was all that was written down there. With a sigh, Brian put the picture back, this time into his backpack instead of the breast pocket of his shirt, and looked up to the stars.

"Looks like it's time for me to make my debut in the Yggdrasil labyrinth, huh folks? Wish me luck from where guys are right now."

Musing that to himself, he made his way into an inn with the sign "Jenetta's Inn" - if he wanted a roof over his head tonight, he might as well pick the first one that looked decent. He greeted the innkeeper, a girl with bunny ears that he suspected was of the Therian race he heard about before entering Arcania, and dropped off his belongings at the room they gave to him – apparently the only one still available and the smallest one, but he didn't mind. It's not like he intended to stay for more than one night in the first place.

He didn't even make it to the bar that night as he initially intended to – the moment he dropped down on the bed for a moment, the exhaustion just caught up to him and he drifted off to sleep for the rest of the night.

* * *

"It seems of late the people of this city have forgotten what it means to be an adventurer...

They fear danger, seek stability, and settle for mediocrity, yet still call themselves adventurers."

Brian looked at the colossus of a man towering before him. Or at the very least, he suspected that it was a colossus, as the man was covered completely in black armor, from head to toe, making it hard to tell his actual height.

Just as he decided the night before, his first step ended up being a visit to the Explorers Guild. Finding it turned out to be an easy feat, just like the guards told him last evening, and from the look of things, even a visit to this "Egar" guy seemed to be something that was easily arranged. He expected to wait for ages, what with a guy who is in charge of both the guards and connecting the city council with the guilds (and therefore most likely swamped with work). So when he entered Egar's office, he almost seemed a little disappointed that the mountains of paperwork he pictured in his mind were nowhere to be seen – only that mountain of a man, as far as Brian was concerned. The man in question seemed to just finish up a discussion with a member of the guards, and from the little snippet Brian gathered at the end, it must have had to do with some new explorers not living up to the qualities expected of an adventurer. He heard much of the same stories from his sister Erika, so in his thoughts he figured that no matter which Yggdrasil labyrinth, all of them seem to have a couple of such problem cases on their hands. Waiting for a few moments to make sure that the two men did indeed finish up their conversation, Brian then cleared his throat to get their attention. Within moments, the man turned his attention towards him, greeting him with a short nod.

"I've not seen your face before. Are you new? If you have the fortitude with which to brave Yggdrasil, you should form your own guild. To do that, you must rally comrades who share your resolution. If you're up to the challenge, then I welcome you. Ah, but forgive me for not introducing myself earlier. I'm Egar, guildmaster for the Explorers Guild. I hope your journeys bring us together again in the future." Nodding in return as well, Brian placed a set of documents on Egar's desk, making sure that he picked the right ones this time around, and spoke up to introduce himself while Egar gave them a glimpse.

"My name is Brian Schmidt, from the city of Eschwege in the far north, Sir Egar! I have come here in the hopes of signing up with another guild as a Dragoon, intending to scale Yggdrasil and reach the top! Though I do not intend to lead my own guild, rest assured that my passion is for exploring the unknown, and being the first to step onto undiscovered soil!" Saluting for a moment, Egar was quick to calm him down.

"There is no need for the formality, or to even adress me with a title – the citizens of Iorys just call me Egar, and a title such as 'Sir' is meaningless among fellow explorers." Turning his gaze back to the documents, he paused for a few moments, then looked up again to inspect Brian's face – or at the very least that's what Brian assumed, considering the helmet that almost completely covered Egar's face, making it hard to tell just what kind of expression he had at the moment.

"Schmidt, Schmidt. Hm. You DO look like her, at the very least. Am I correct to assume that you are a brother of the 'Gale of Tharsis', Erika Schmidt? It would be a waste to have somebody of your caliber not lead a guild, but I shall not adress the issue. I reckon that you are already standing in her shadow most of the time as is, what with all she did and still does over there for the Outland Count of Tharsis. The guildmaster over there is an old friend of mine, so expect my surprise when he recently wrote a letter to me. One stating that I might expect a visitor like you in the foreseeable future. Please, take a seat for now, there is no need for you to stand during this conversation."

Looking down at the chair in front of him, Brian decided that it was best to take Egar up on the offer. He expected him to be a lot more strict than that, what with all the dangers that the labyrinth has to offer, but was already proven otherwise.

"You are right with your assumption, Si- … I mean, Egar. Well, the part about being the brother of Erika, anyways. We are all kind of obsessed with the labyrinth among us siblings, so I figured I might finally give this a shot too. Folks back at home didn't call us labyrinth nuts for nothing. I... don't necessarily think I'm in her shadow, though. The two of us are completely different people. She has her goals, and well, I have mine, it's as simple as that for the two of us. Ah, but I don't want to ramble, so I'll just say that I'm not the type to lead. I feel more comfortable strengthening the backs of my partners so that they can go forward without trouble, if you catch my drift. Wasn't quite sure whether I should become a Dragoon and head over here, or become a Protector and head over to Aslarga, but the latter one is... a special place to us siblings, so I decided to try my luck over here instead. I guess you kind of have to thank her for your job, huh? Iorys only opened up for exploration again two years ago, after all. Heard that the council thought it over after sis established contact with the Sentinel, Vessel and the remnants of the Empire. Since Iorys kind of has that kind of co-existence thing going for it too and all. A-ah, but don't get me wrong, I'm not here to brag or anything, treat me like just any other explorer!" Embarassed about how he was going on and on with his story, Brian just frantically waved his hands in front of him, hoping that they could forget this little rant as soon as possible.

As if in response, Egar let out a hearty laugh, one that calmed down only a minute later.

"That is quite alright. I assume she's the pride of your family then, and there's nothing wrong with that. Conquering an Yggdrasil labyrinth is a feat only achieved by three guilds within seven centuries, so if one of my children would ever reach the top of one as well, I'd be no less inclined to brag." He paused for a moment, then took off his helmet to take a sip from a cup of tea, revealing a rather rugged face underneath, with an almost piercing stare that quickly lightened up somewhat as he noticed Brian's slight unease.

"But getting back on topic. I will be taking your application as an explorer then, and set you up with guilds that might be interested in taking you in. I will not mention your ties to the Gale of Tharsis, as I assume you want them to pick you based on your own merits, not through your family ties, so it might take a couple of days or even weeks until somebody shows interest. Use that time to get familiar with Iorys, perhaps introduce yourself to a few of the people here. Prince Ramus is one of the people you should meet once you have found a guild, but rest assured that he is a friendly fellow to whom status hardly matters. Once you become an official explorer, you will be able to take up tasks posted in the various bars in town, so it might not hurt to make yourself familiar with a few of them, too. And if there are any other remaining questions at any point in time, do not hesitate to approach the Explorers Guild once more. The same goes for if you somehow find a guild of your own without me needing to be the intermediary, or even if you somehow decide that you want to found your own guild after all. Take your time, and let this be my official welcome to Iorys for you. I trust that this is everything you need for today?"

Of course it was. With another brief nod and a final handshake, Brian excused himself from Egar and headed out into the city once more, his task for the remainder of the day obvious – to get to know his surroundings a little better. Inspecting the various markets, inns and bars that the city had to offer, as well as looking for a place to stay that wasn't an inn. He didn't want to drain his funds too quickly, after all.

* * *

The evening of the same day, in the bar called the Twilight Tavern.

"Mirina, two more beers please!" Two women were sitting at the counter of the bar, spending their evening with some drinks to end it on a high note. The owner, a Celestrian woman known as Mirina to all customers, could only sigh for a moment.

"Now look. I know the two of you are bringing in good money for me with all the drinking you do, but you really have to stop her from passing out again, Miriam. I don't think always having to pull her back home must be all that pleasant, right?"

Miriam, the bespectacled girl of the two, simply nodded as the other woman hugged her from behind. "Let her have some fun. She finally came up with a name for the guild she wants to create, so she wanted to have one more night during which she can just let go. I don't mind that. I admit, it's pretty pleasant to be fussed over so much, even if I don't quite see why she picked me of all people..."

As if to chime in, the other woman mumbled a "So cute!" in her drunken stupor, followed up by a short giggle. She only let go of the hug when Mirina brought another two mugs of beer, so that she could drink from the next one.

"Still, I'll never get this. The two of you drink the same things, in the same quantity, but I swear that I have never seen you drunk, Miriam. What kind of liver does that take? Whoever is your doctor must be either screaming in rage about that systematic abuse, or might want to take you as a medical research topic without you knowing about it yet. Maybe even both."

"Mirina, ANOTHER BEER FOR OUR GUEST OF HONOR!" From the back of the tavern, a noisy crowd of patrons interrupted their conversation to place an order as well, making Miriam turn around to see what the fuss was all about (and in turn, making the woman next to her rest her head on Miriam's lap for a bit without actually falling asleep).

"What's up with them? Some kind of special guest today, Mirina?" After returning from the group of customers to bring them their beer, she took a seat right next to Miriam and tilted her head for a moment. "I don't really know. There's this guy from the north who came to the tavern a couple of hours ago. Looked like he wanted to become an explorer and make himself familiar with the places here, but then kind of got drunk and started sharing stories about a guild from Tharsis. Seems to know that guild in person, though I can't tell whether or not all of those stories are authentic. The guests seem to be entertained by him though, so I decided that I could let him stay as long as he doesn't start a brawl or anything. Have to admit, his stories have something to it, kind of makes you hope that they actually are true."

Miriam moved her hand as if to brush the girl's hair, though failed to notice that the girl wasn't even resting in her lap anymore, going by how engrossed she was in her conversation with Mirina.

"So did he mention any names? A famous guild or something, maybe? Not that I'd know them, but well, maybe I do."

"Oh right, you just returned to civilization a couple of months ago, so you might not know them. They're called Victory, a five person guild from Tharsis. Led by a woman that they call the Gale of Tharsis, Erika. The other members were... what were their names again? Isaac, Mark, Cynthia and Finn, if I'm not mistaken. Erika and Isaac are the most famous ones out of those five though, so you probably don't need to memorize the other three. If it weren't for them, chances are that the Yggdrasil labyrinth over here might still be closed to the people, so I guess we should be grateful for them? Though also brought quite some deaths with it too, as people keep underestimating just how dangerous it is. There was a complete guild wiped out just two weeks ago too, nice people that didn't deserve the gruesome death they got. What a big waste of lifes..."

For a moment, the mood got rather depressing, an awkward silence between the two of them and neither knowing what to say next. Until Mirina broke the ice once more.

"In any case, could you do me a favor and tell those patrons over there that the tavern will be closing in about half an hour? I may be a night owl, but at some point I want to catch some sleep as well. I'll be busy with the other patrons' orders, so I fear that I'm occupied at the counter here."

Miriam nodded, standing up from her seat and stretching a little after being in a sitting position for so long. At some point, her friend must have wandered off somewhere, as she was nowhere to be seen, but a quick look told her that she was with the crowd listening to the traveler's stories.

"And then, they took on the Boiling Lizard in the Golden Lair! They teamed up with a big guy from the Sentinel named Kibagami, a fellow quite literally as strong as an ox! That thing was a complete terror to face, torturing Victory with a literal barrage of unimaginably hot steam and burning flames, as hot as is they were straight from a volcano! But they knew just what to do, with Finn bombarding it with his ice runes, Erika and Cynthia striking whenever the lizard focused its attention on defending itself from the icicles, Mark blocking any and all attempts the lizard made at attacking, and Isaac keeping the others healthy with skilled first aid. That monster was larger than even this tavern, but behold, they managed to best it and recover the Titan's crown at the side of their new ally, without so much as even the slightest injuries in the end! Cheers for the heroes of Tharsis, guild Victory!" Deafening cheers resounded from the patrons as Brian raised his mug, followed by clapping from people all around them. It didn't matter that they couldn't verify whether his stories were correct or not. It didn't matter that he was already drunk from all the mugs of beer that he kept downing throughout the evening. The crowd loved his stories and the detail they had to them, enough so that they were able to overlook everything else. Among that crowd, there was a woman looking at Brian with sparkles in her eyes, the same woman that was accompanying Miriam just a few minutes ago.

Miriam was just about to speak up, asking the patrons to finish up what they were doing so that the bar could close up, when the woman made her move by walking in front of Brian.

"Hey, you! The name's Karin, want to join my very own guild, Accord?"

Miriam's eyes almost seemed to pop out when Karin spoke up, but that wasn't the last surprise that the evening had in store for her.

With a hearty laugh of his own, Brian gave Karin's back a slap, before taking her hand and raising it up in the air. "I like your guts, Karin! Sure, let's team up! Iorys will know the Accord guild before too long, hahaha! MIRINA, ANOTHER ROUND OF BEER FOR EVERYONE! Cheers!"

Miriam wanted to utter an "Excuse me?!" in response, but was quickly drowned out from the loud cheers of the other patrons as well. And that's when Karin came up with the real kicker.

"Alright, ladies and gents, let's drink on guild Accord and its newest member, Brian! Me, Brian here and my lovely girlfriend Miriam will conquer the labyrinth and become legends just like that Victory guild my newest buddy has talked about! CHEERS!"

And from somewhere within the crowd, a very loud and surprised "EXCUSE ME?!" could be heard from a woman, her cheeks reddened not from all the alcohol she consumed that night, but out of sheer embarassment.

From what it seems, life in Iorys took quite the unexpected turn for these three on that evening in April 3032. An evening that'd mark the beginning of their conquest of Yggdrasil, the rise of a guild that would indeed later become known throughout Iorys.

... after they got rid of the ensuing hangover, anyways.

* * *

 **Author's notes:** ... and there it is, my very first (published) story in the Etrian Odyssey universe, though by no means the first one I have ever written for the setting. Being fond of the series ever since its initial release in the West, I couldn't resist sharing some of my headcanon for it - in particular, this story is the fifth out of currently six guild adventures in that headcanon, chronologically speaking. As such, guilds from previous adventures will be mentioned through the story (the aforementioned guild Victory being the prime example, though there'll be a couple of other guilds mentioned in that regard), and as such, the number of names that might be dropped at times only to rarely appear again in the future might be confusing to some readers. Rest assured that the story will be perfectly understandable (or at least I hope it will be) even without ever having read the previous entries (which is quite logical, considering that they were never published). Whether or not any of the previous entries will ever reach this site? I honestly don't know, considering my schedule full of classes for uni and other less important things, though one might never know. The schedule for this story here might end up being rather erratic, however I hope that this will not affect the enjoyment for the story too negatively for the readers. In any case, thank you for even reading this far, too!

Anyways, little tidbits about the story direction. This time around, it introduces the first three members of what will end up as a seven person guild eventually - the Dragoon Brian, the Pugilist Karin and the Warlock Miriam, all of the Earthlain race. The current intention is to go as far as time and motivation allow it, which could even mean the end of stratum 6 (though expect a long time to pass until that actually becomes feasible to reach). Some creative liberties will be taken with the story in order to allow the story to fit in with the other adventures in the headcanon, though they might only become really apparent in later stratums (for spoilery reasons).


	2. Guilds, goofballs and a talking chicken

"Ugh, whoever invented hangovers should probably suffer an eternity of experiencing those in hell. Must have been one hell of a jerk. Jenetta, another glass of water please?" Brian, having just woken up from a night of drinking, was sitting down at a table in the inn he was staying at, Jenetta's inn. He didn't know HOW he even got there, considering that he was pretty certain he passed out after sharing his stories. Passed out in the tavern, that is. And it's not like he ever told anyone in there where he was staying at. Or at the very least he _thought_ so, but could never really rule out that he let a few details too many slip out after loosening his tongue with alcohol. Jenetta just gave her perky giggle in response as she handed him the glass of water – she has seen plenty of customers in the time she had run this inn with her sisters, so it's not like it was her first time dealing with drunks the morning after.

Slapping both his cheeks with his hands, Brian desperately tried to sober up – or at the very least, wake up a little more. It didn't really feel like he got much sleep last night, and his head was still slightly buzzing. "So, there's this really fun dream I had, Jenetta. You know, there was this chick who recruited me into her guild. No, I don't mean a chicken, I mean a girl! Well, at least I think it was a girl. The more I think about the details of the dream, the hazier it goes, so maybe I actually wanted to explore with a talking chicken..."

Jenetta could barely contain her laughter – she tried to, she really did, but that was a little bit too out there, even for her. "But wait, I'm not finished yet! So yeah, I actually accepted the invitation of the chicken girl. What was the guild's name again? Discord? Accordeon? Something like that. Wanted me to explore together with her and her girlfriend. Wonder whether that girlfriend was a chicken too. God, I shouldn't crave meat before going to bed, that's not healthy... but anyways, you know, something about this was so bizarre that it tells me this wasn't actually a dream. Maybe it's a prophetic dream or something. Even though I heavily doubt that talking chickens actually exist, but you get me, don't you Jenetta? I mean, imagine this! Imagine that one day, a talking chicken just strolls into your inn, informs you that your prices for a night's stay are too high, and then leaves again, all in the most gentlemanly voice you could imagine! That's just plain weird, isn't it?"

"Oh? That's very interesting, buddy. Did the chicken share her name by any chance? Maybe Karin, and her girlfriend was Miriam?" A tanned, slightly muscular girl with black hair who was sitting at the table right behind him suddenly spoke up, looking at Brian with amusement – one might even say that she had a catlike grin on her face, as if she already knew everything that was going on without Brian even needing to speak up. The tangent that Brian was going on about almost had her burst her gut from laughter, but just like Jenetta in the back, she was barely able to reign it in.

"Yeah, that's it exactly! At the very least, this chicken girl was fun, got to admit that. Have to say, I wouldn't mind being in a guild like that. You know, besides the fact that it'd be weird to explore with two companions like that."

"Well then today's your lucky day! You've been hired by the Accord guild, buddy! No chickens here, I'm afraid, much less talking ones, but I'll be looking forward to working with you, hehe." And there it was again. That catlike grin that made Brian feel like he just played into her hand – and almost made him spit out the sip of water he took moments earlier. Except that it didn't make sense – that girl was quite obviously an Earthlain, not the chicken he was thinking about. On second thought, the mere thought of it caused his stomach to rumble. Just as he was about to object to the girl's statement, another woman with glasses showed up and ruffled the girl's hair. The two of them seemed to be about the same age – Brian guessed that they might have been a few years older than him, but not by much.

"Don't mess with him too much, Karin. He was drunk when he agreed yesterday. For that matter, YOU were drunk when you made the offer in the first place. Binding him to some promise he made while he didn't even have his wits to himself wouldn't be fair to him, don't you agree? I know you want some partners, but just look at what Egar can provide you with later, okay?" She then walked up to Brian, bowed for a moment, and then looked him in the eyes. "I'm sorry for the trouble my friend caused for you, mister Brian. She's a good girl, but at times a bit impulsive, so I hope you will forgive her for those circumstances."

Karin could only pout in the background – here it was, the chance of a lifetime slipping away just like that! "But Miriam... if he's about to join a guild anyways, why not just ours! Come on, please?" Almost immediately, Karin started to cling to Miriam from behind, kind of like a spoiled child that just HAD to convince her parents to buy her that brand new toy all her peers were talking about in class. Except that she was a fully grown woman, not an infant.

This time, it was Brian's turn to speak up. "I actually don't mind." Karin was clinging ever tighter to Miriam, while Miriam went as pale as if she just saw a ghost. A high-pitched "Come again?" was about all she could come up with in response. "I said I don't mind. Joining your guild. Heck, you don't even need to teach me the secret to transforming into a chicken if you don't want to tell me." When that earned him the glare of Miriam, he nervously rubbed off some sweat from his face, by that time already feeling fully sobered up. "I jest, I jest! Just wanted some kind of punchline for this conversation, but thinking about it, that one just felt wrong." Taking another sip from his glass, therefore emptying it, he paused for a bit before continuing his speech.

"That being said, I meant it when I said I'd accept the offer. I mean, it's not like I belong to a guild or anything. Signed up with the Explorer's Guild yesterday, but that Egar guy said it might take a couple of days or even weeks until a guild might want to recruit me. So heck, if a guild already DOES show interest in me? Who am I to decline? And Karin already has a better sense of humor than most other adventurers I've come across, so why not join this merry round as a fellow goofball?" Karin stopped clinging to Miriam, instead walking in front of her with a smug, triumphant and no less catlike grin on her face, the kind that just screamed _"See, didn't I tell ya?"_. And to wrap things up, she just gave a thumbs up to Brian. "It looks like there's some people in Iorys who just get it, buddy! Welcome to your new home, the Accord guild!"

And somewhere in the back of her mind, Miriam was sighing. She has gotten used to those flights of fancy in the six months she has known Karin.

* * *

"So, with that out of the way, I want to get to know you two girls a little better. We will be working together from now on after all, so I guess we should properly introduce ourselves first before heading over to Egar. That okay with you two?"

As if consenting to it, both Karin and Miriam nodded in unison. If they wanted to cooperate in the future, that was the first step necessary to ensure that things would go smoothly from now on.

"Well, I don't really know how much I actually shared about myself in the tavern yesterday though, as embarrassing as it is to admit. I mean, I remember what I told the folks there, but I don't remember when the two of you started listening, so maybe one of you two should start first? That'll give me some time to think of a concise version of my story. You know, so that I'm not boring you with things you already heard. Any of you who explicitly wants to go first? I don't know either of you yet, so I wouldn't be able to tell who's more or less important."

They both turned to look at each other, both girls furrowing their brows a little, before they eventually nodded once more. They looked at Brian again, Karin then turned to look at Miriam for a short moment once more, and finally spoke up first.

"Since I'm the one who actually created the guild, I should probably be the one to go first then. My name is Karin Ortus, an only-child born in Iorys. I don't really like that last name, from what I heard one of my great-great-grandparents once made it up and then decided to just keep it for the family line. It doesn't even sound like a proper name or anything. I've been dedicating much of my youth to martial arts, and eventually decided to become an explorer myself, because, well..." For a moment she paused, looking at Miriam once more before turning to Brian again with a blush. "T-they said that the top of Yggdrasil has everything one's heart desires, so I want to bring my girlfriend Miriam there, so that she could get what she could possibly yearn for." Miriam, to Brian's surprise, suddenly started blushing madly as well, quickly turning her gaze downwards. It was as if she didn't even knew about this before Karin brought it up just now.

"You see, I like cute things. I want to cuddle them, I want to pat them, to spoil them, to gush and fawn over them as much as I want. So when I meet Karin half a year ago, you might guess it, it has been love at first sight!" In demonstration of her prior words, Karin left her seat, hugging Miriam from behind. "And now, I'm trying to drum up a group that would like to explore with me, all so that I can achieve that dream for my sweetheart. Ah, this is heavenly bliss!"

Brian's gaze said more than thousand words could - _"Is she always like that?"_. Miriam quietly nodded, not wanting to interrupt the introduction. After what felt like an awkward hour, but was actually less than two minutes, Karin cleared her throat and once more sat down next to the other two. "In any case, I will be working as a Pugilist in the guild. You can count on me having the experience to fight, and I can promise you that I'll be doing whatever possible to bring the two of you back to Iorys alive at the end of each exploration trip!"

Miriam slowly clapped, a gesture that Brian mirrored just a few seconds later. Karin and Miriam were both looking at him, their gaze asking as if there was anything else that he wanted to know, but eventually he just shook his head, leaving Miriam to follow up with her side of the story. From the looks of it, Miriam was still struggling with the intense blushing her friend caused, however.

"I-I'm Miriam Rothe, also born an only-child in Iorys. That being said I didn't really spend much time in this city and barely have any childhood memories of it, since my parents traveled a lot on their job. They're archaeologists, so when I was four of five years old, they went to a Celestrian village in the northwest to research a new ruin that was found there. Oh, I'm 25 right now, by the way, a few weeks older than Karin here. We'll both turn 26 in September."

Taking a short sip from a glass of water that Jenetta thoughtfully provided for each of them, she then continued. "We basically spent a few years at a Celestrian village, then moved on to the next village where old ruins were found. My parents like to try their hands at deciphering the ancient murals in those ruins, so they were never short on work. Me though, I spent the time playing with the children in those Celestrian settlements. I got along with them, and they said I had potential, so they eventually taught me a trick or two about their Warlock profession. It's also how I met Mirina for the first time, actually. You know, the one running the bar where the two of you passed out yesterday. It wasn't quite easy to get you back here, Mirina had to call Jenetta over because I never would have managed to pull the two of you here on my own. Didn't even expect that you'd be staying at her inn here, Brian, so that turned out to be a neat coincidence.

So, in any case, I eventually decided to leave my parents to their own devices by the time I turned 21. Spent a few years visiting Therian and Brouni settlements in order to get myself acquainted with their culture as well, and before I knew it I was heading to Iorys a few years later down the line, all in order to move into the house my parents left behind there. And well... that's when she showed up. Hugged me out of the blue when I was searching for the home of my parents, stating that she found her true love. Karin's a bit... overbearing at times, but I don't think I actually mind it that much. I've been a bit goalless before, so having somebody like her around is actually rather refreshing."

A look at Brian did not reveal the reaction they were inspecting – instead he moved his hand to wipe away a tear that wasn't actually there, simply stating a short "Ah, to be young again..." in response, completely neglecting the fact that he was two years younger than either of them. Miriam wanted to sigh, but got completely overwhelmed by Karin's response – she just stood up and held her arms wide open, as if prodding Brian to hug her. "Brian!"

Without a second thought, he followed suit. "Karin!" Before Miriam even processed the bizarre scene in front of her, the two of them started hugging, shouting each other's names before they realized that the other guests were looking at them strangely (and Jenetta had a giggling fit, for that matter). For any onlooker it might have appeared as if two soulmates just found each other – and if they thought about it a little, they might have realized that they weren't that far off the mark either.

After finally recomposing themselves, Brian finally spoke up with his introduction in tow.

"Well, I will be keeping things short since you might have heard a couple of things from me already yesterday. My name is Brian Schmidt, 23 years old, and I'm from the city of Eschwege. If you don't know where that is, that's completely okay – the city isn't that big, and on the other side of the planet to begin with, far in the north. I'm the third child of two inn-keepers, out of four in total. There's me, my older bro Friedrich, my older sis Erika and my younger sis Erin. We are all kind of... well, fascinated with the labyrinth, really. Our family inn always had a lot of travelers passing through, and some of them would share the stories from their journeys during the nights they were staying over. Friedrich got into them first, being the oldest and all, and we all got pulled in by his curiosity, especially when they started talking about the Yggdrasil labyrinths. They usually spoke about the ones in Lagaard and Tharsis, since those are the two closest ones to our home, but even stories from Etria, Aslarga, Iorys and Gotham would reach our place from time to time. And so we all grew up wanting to be explorers ourselves. My bro unfortunately isn't able to any longer, so us three younger siblings want to carry the endeavor on even more for him. Erika already made a name for herself over in Tharsis, and Erin's currently climbing in Lagaard, so I felt like I should get up and get my ass moving before even my little sis leaves me in the dust. I started training under an old Hoplite from Armoroad about a decade ago, and eventually decided to come to Iorys in order to explore as a Dragoon. Not that the journey was an easy one, let me tell you. If I'd get an Ental for every time a stroke of bad luck caused me unnecessary bruises, I'd probably be rich enough to at least buy a house here in Iorys. Maybe not enough to never need to work again, but I don't think I'd even WANT that much bad luck in the first place. So there you have it, the most important things you have to know about me, I guess. Sure, there's more to me than that, but where's the fun in just straight-out telling you? We'll be spending time as members of the same guild from now on, so you'll find out the rest sooner or later anyways, haha."

With that, Brian stood up, extending his hand towards Miriam in order for a handshake, one she accepted after a brief pause. He initially did much the same for Karin, extending his hand towards her as well – only to pull back at the last second, going with a fist bump instead.

"It'll be a pleasure to explore alongside you two. Brian Schmidt, at your service!"

* * *

"This is great timing that you've got there, Brian. Come over here for a bit, there are already some guilds interested in taking you in."

After their introductions were said and done, the newly formed trio of the soon-to-be guild Accord made it their first order of business to get the guild formally registered with Egar – Brian needed to stop by there in any case, all in order to tell Egar that it was no longer necessary to find a guild for him. Jokes were exchanged on the way between Brian and Karin, to the point one might have sworn that the two of them had known each other for years. So naturally, Brian was a little taken aback when his meeting with Egar revealed that not just one or two, but rather four guilds already showed interest in him – as evidenced by the stacks of papers placed on Egar's desk. Miriam was standing behind him, waiting to see how things would develop... just Karin didn't have the nerve to, instead already going through the papers on her own as Egar was about to start his briefing with Brian.

"Ooooh, those are some big names there alright, Brian. Spearfang, that must be Anne's guild. I recognize Priere and Daemon too, those belong to Franzi and Marika respectively." Not even paying attention to the armored mountain, Karin rushed over to Brian's side for a moment, giving him a little jab to his sides. "Not even two full days in Iorys and you already have four ladies competing over your charms and skills. My, aren't we the ladykiller, Brian?"

"Excuse me, may I please talk to him in priv-". Egar tried to speak up, but before he could even properly interrupt her again, this veritable force of nature already took the initiative from him before he even knew he had it in the first place.

"And wow." A whistle could be heard from her. "Guild Renegade too, you sure got the attention of some big names right there, buddy. That's Sergej's guild, an old friend of mine. Trained under the same master and all. Currently leading one of only three guilds to have gotten past the first stratum. If even that guy shows interest in you, we must have reeled in quite the catch this time! Man, I can't wait to tell him and see the jealousy in his eyes when he learns about it!" Karin finally quieted down, getting lost in her own imagination instead. If Brian didn't know any better, Egar was just about to pop a vein under his helmet from the uninvited guest, but Miriam was quick to defuse the situation.

"Please don't mind her, she'll calm down before you know it. I apologize for the sudden intrusion, but we are part of a group now. Karin here wanted to officially register a guild, and Brian here decided to join us on his own volition yesterday. This may be too much to ask for, but I would please ask you to overlook her antics this time, Sir Egar."

Taking the helmet off to scratch the back of his head, Egar himself could only sigh himself. "Another one of those. Here I thought it was about time to get a serious guild leader again. Well, if she managed to get him to join her guild, there must be some kind of skill to her that I'm overlooking right now. Please wait, I shall ready the papers for her to sign." And before he headed off into another room to the back, presumably where they kept the papers they needed on the job, his voice trailed off with a comment about how he'd definitely need a cup of tea when this meeting was over, to calm his nerves. Or how he should finally take some days off soon to spend time with his wife, like his superiors suggested recently.

Minutes later, Egar returned with a single sheet of paper, exhaustion clearly visible on his face. For what it mattered, the paper was pretty straight-forward – the only thing it required to fill out were the guild name, the name of the guild leader, a list of the members, the location of their base of operations (if it existed), as well as a signature from each member of the guild. Karin was the first one to sign, entering the guild name Accord, her own name as the leader, the location of Miriam's house, as well as her signature in the end. Miriam came up next, entering her name in the member list just below Karin before giving her signature as well, before Brian finally did the same thing to wrap it up.

"Accord guild, eh? Well, it is up to you whether that name becomes renowned or is lost in history."

Those were the simple words that Egar had for this ragtag bunch in front of him. The same words he uttered to every guild that hoped to make itself known in Iorys, declaring a challenge to them. A challenge to brave the labyrinth and come back to tell about it.

"With this, the Accord guild is officially registered in the city of Iorys. However, be aware: The council may have lifted the ban on exploring Yggdrasil, but their permission is still required to enter. As such, it would be prudent to set up a meeting with Prince Ramus – he will give you your first assignment to see whether your guild is qualified to take on the labyrinth. Personally, I would recommend to recruit two more members before you face Yggdrasil – traditionally, exploration teams usually have a strength of five persons."

Miriam took off her glasses for a moment to wipe them clean – the slightly humid air in the room made them fog up just a little, and it reached the point where it just bothered her. Karin and Brian just nodded, having been interested in the labyrinth enough to know this tidbit, but Miriam was quick to interject a question.

"Is there actually a reason why it's five persons and not, say, three or seven? Does that even matter?" Just as Egar was about to answer, Brian raised his hand a bit, indicating him to stop. He'd answer that on his own.

"It's got mostly to do with the nature of the monsters in the labyrinth. Many of them are very territorial, and as such, they react aggressively to any kind of intruder that sets foot on their soil. That being said, just because they are like that doesn't mean that they will always be able to locate us immediately. There was this approach that was made famous by the first guild to scale an Yggdrasil labyrinth, Uberion, which suggested a party size of five. The reasoning being that it's small enough to not attract monsters with every third step you take, but not small enough that you'd necessarily be overwhelmed by even one skirmish. Strictly speaking a group of six would work too, however people reached the agreement that the sixth spot should be left open, in case you need to escort somebody either into the labyrinth, or well, out of it. Guilds may be on their own in the labyrinth, but if you come across the sole survivor of a guild in there, of course you want to rescue them without putting your own group at risk. That doesn't apply to meeting up with other guilds in the labyrinth by chance, by the way. Those meetings are usually brief enough that they end before the monsters become aware of them."

Egar and Karin nodded in unison, a strange sight considering their earlier interactions. "It is exactly as he said. After Uberion, Echoes and Victory all cleared their respective Yggdrasil labyrinths with that party size, the council eventually decided to enforce it as a rule when they re-opened Yggdrasil to the public. You are still free to go at it with less members than this, as it is only an upper limit. For example, the currently highest-ranking guild in this city consists of only two members, and yet they are close to being the first guild to reach the third stratum. However, both of them are seasoned veterans already. Even taking Brian's connections into consideration, the three of you are probably lacking the experience to do this just yet."

This time, it was Karin's turn to raise her hand, interrupting Egar's explanation. "That's actually part of the reason why we came here. Well, besides getting the guild registered. Guild leaders get the opportunity to pick new members based from the applications you get, right? So we came here to scout a little as well. It doesn't really matter what the class of one future teammate is as long as we don't have that one covered yet, but we need a Botanist in particular. If we go into the labyrinth as we are right now, we'd only get roughed up after a few rounds of combat and would have to retreat to get our wounds inspected by somebody. Think you can set us up with a few candidates, Egar?"

Covering his face with both palms of his head, Egar tried to think a little about Karin's request. "A Botanist. Hm, so it's a Botanist." Getting lost in thought for a moment, it almost seemed as if Egar didn't even notice the people around him anymore, until he continued speaking a little bit later, that is. "A botanist might be tough to find for a new guild, as embarrassing as it sounds. They are popular with both experienced and fresh guilds alike due to their capabilities, and the waiting list for them is long. As much as it pains me to say it, it would be better to find one in Iorys that just hasn't registered here yet, and win them over for your guild like you did with Brian here. I think I may otherwise have a few candidates that haven't found a guild yet, if you give me a couple of moments to copy their sign-up sheets. It'll fall to your own guild to meet up with them and interview them."

Minutes passed once more, with Egar carefully writing down several names, their classes, rough qualifications and locations on a piece of paper. Skimming over it, there was one thing that immediately caught the three's eyes.

"Sheesh, that's a lot of Rovers there. What's up with that?" As Miriam kept crossing out a few names and encircling others, Brian couldn't help but to ask this little question. At least three quarters of the list consisted of this class that was predominantly taken up by Therians – a class that he would have suspected to be a very valuable one beforehand, due to the animal companions they keep with them.

"Well, shortly after the labyrinth opened up again, there has been a sort of fad for the other class Therians are famous for, the Masurao. A skilled one is capable of wielding up to four swords at once, and as such, many new guilds where enchanted by the possibilities that such a class offered to them. In the wake of this, Rovers quickly became overlooked, as people where quick to jump to the conclusion that Therian race equaled a Masurao. Some of them have been waiting for a guild to approach them ever since then, despite being capable. Of course, the same thing could have been said about Harbingers until a while ago, but with some of the high-ranking guilds like Renegade making them popular again, they have been more in demand too in recent months."

At this point, Karin already grew tired of the conversation that was mostly between Brian and Egar – while she was interested in the labyrinth, she wasn't drawn as much into its spell as Brian was, making her realize just what he meant earlier when said that he and his siblings were fascinated by the labyrinth. She was simply interested in the myths ranking around it, dreaming about what she could achieve if she ever reached the top. Brian though? From the look of things, he was literally absorbing everything there was to the labyrinth. He wanted to know what kind of people were exploring it. He wanted to know why they did the things they do in the labyrinth, he wanted to know not just what was waiting at its top, but rather at the middle and the bottom of it as well. In a way, he was just like a child at heart, a child who loved nothing more than to listen to the stories the grown-ups had for him.

She, however, didn't nearly care as much about it. Or at the very least, she didn't care about it as much just yet. All she wanted at this point was to get out something, anything, as long as it'd draw the conversation closer to an end, now that they managed to get what they came here for. Grasping at straws, the only thing Karin's mind came up with was to direct the conversation at the last thing she heard from them, Harbingers. "Renegade's Harbinger, huh? Last time I met up with old Sergej, he said that was some girl named Tabitha. Haven't actually met her yet, but heard that she's a capable one when it comes to using miasma in combat." In her hurry to end the conversation, she instead added more fuel to it, prolonging it even further. Just about to throw the towel in defeat, it was Miriam however who offered her the opportunity to escape she so longed for.

"Karin, Brian. Put this here on hold for a moment, because I think I found a good one. A Rover who goes by the name of Albert."


	3. When in doubt, just petrify

"So, what's this Albert like? I mean, going from the application he sent in an all?"

The three of them were walking through the streets of Iorys, on their way from the Explorers Guild to the house of somebody called Albert – a potential recruit for their new guild. The opening that Miriam provided with her message was one that Karin didn't let go to waste – having heard enough of the labyrinth chat between Egar and Brian, all she wanted was to get far, FAR away from it for the time being. Just listening to them droning on and on about social and economical changes that the exploration from Yggdrasil brought with it reminded her of school, and that was the last thing she wanted right now.

As such, Karin immediately dragged the two of them out of Egar's office, stating that "The sooner we get a grasp on this Albert fellow, the sooner we can start exploring the labyrinth for real!". Except that in all her hurry to get out there, she never even once implored just why Miriam picked him out in particular. Or whether he was the only candidate worth paying attention to in the first place, for that matter, but going back to Egar's office now because they forgot something that trivial wasn't a course of action that she wanted to follow, either. It'd look stupid, in her opinion.

"Well, the information itself was actually pretty brief and concise. Graduated at the top of his class and got recommendations for a few other educational institutes, mostly in the historical field. Immediately filed an application for becoming an adventurer afterwards instead of going to any of those though. The application didn't really state an age, or the time when he applied, but just going by that, he should be somewhere between 18 to 21 years ago, depending on how old the application is. The labyrinth opened up a little bit over two years ago, after all, so it could be that he was 18 back then and just turned 21 recently. According to his information, he's trained in hunting with a falcon, works as a trader while he's waiting for a guild to contact him."

"Tsk, so we get a boring know-it-all for our guild now? Fiiiiiiiine." In what was quickly becoming a habit, Miriam turned to sigh in response to Karin's statement. It was fine like this, even if Karin was already pouting again. She knew that Karin herself understood the need for a smart person in the guild above anyone else. If she'd be allowed to pick every member of her guild herself, it'd inevitably end up with a group good for causing chaos, but not necessarily for climbing the Yggdrasil tree.

"Well, trader doesn't mean much at all actually, Miriam. Could be that he's just selling whatever he brings back to town from his hunt. Heck, where I come from, errand boys would sometimes call themselves traders because they get money from somebody, trade that money against goods in a shop, and then bring it back to whoever gave them the money. Strictly speaking, they aren't even wrong if they call themselves that way, even if it bends the meaning a little. I'm not against hiring a smart guy, I'm just saying it might be a dud. Did it say anything about why he wants to climb? Strikes me as the type who wants to get knowledge from climbing, or something up that alley at the very least. Or just wants to get filthy rich, if he's actually serious about this whole trader business." Out of boredom, Brian was kicking a pebble on the side of the road they were walking on, not quite sure how else to fill the silence after answering to Miriam. They didn't really have much to go by when it came to this Albert guy, so he just hoped that Miriam actually had some sort of reasoning when she picked him in particular. Some special quality she didn't mention about him yet, a gut feeling, anything as long as it wasn't just on impulse.

"Please stop there, his house should be somewhere around here." Stopping in his tracks after hearing Miriam's words, Brian was quick to look around for any potential places where a guy like him would live. "What's his address again, Miriam? House number at least, I trust you that we're in the correct street already." Quick to respond, Miriam pulled a little note out of her pocket, one she made just in case she'd forget the address they were looking for, or anything else of importance. "Assuming he didn't move without notifying Egar about it, he should be in house number 37. Let's see, 37, 37..." Scanning the houses to her left and right, Miriam quickly pointed to one particular place on the left side of the road. "There it is. Number 37. Karin, your call. If you'd please be so kind to knock?"

Still not having recovered from her pouting, Karin simply stepped forward to the door, inspecting it for a few moments. It looked just like any other house, even if the curtains of the windows were closed, forbidding anyone to look inside from the outside. "Alright, here goes nothing!"

One knock, silence. Fifteen seconds later, another knock. After a minute without an answer, a third, more forceful knock followed, once more to no avail. What followed could only be described as an incredibly awkward, forced laughter from all three of them.

"W-well, we did come here unannounced, after all, without any prior notice. I guess we shouldn't be surprised that he's actually out when we try to meet him, especially on a weekday like this. Haha, hahaha. Makes us look really stupid, now that I'm thinking about it. Miriam, Brian, let's try again later, okay? We don't want to look like creepy stalkers or burglars to the neighbors, r-right?" Her cheeks as red as a tomato from the reveal that Albert wasn't even at his home right now, the embarrassed Karin now just desperately wanted to get as far away as possible from this place, as soon as possible. The only thing stopping her from doing so was Miriam quickly taking a hold of her hand, as if she anticipated that Karin would try to get away.

"One more job for you first. Please be so kind and knock at the neighbor's door. Any of them is fine. We don't want to come back another time only to realize that he's away yet again. It would already help if there's somebody around here who knows when he is usually out. And no, I don't have a pen with me, so writing a note and then slipping it in under the front door isn't an option."

"B-but! But! Even though I'm the leader I shouldn't handle all of that! Mercy! Have mercy with this poor soul!" Her fake tears and whining weren't getting Karin anywhere, at least not with Miriam. Quickly she decided to try it on Brian instead, in the hope of him taking over, or at least voting against it in a majority vote, but he too just gazed off into the sky, embarassedly scratching his cheek in hopes that Karin would just give up and approach another door already.

"Then one of you should at least accompany me or something! Come on, will ya?" Unexpectedly, it was Miriam's turn to burst out in laughter, a reaction that Brian didn't see from her until just now.

"Hey, what's so funny about my suffering? Help your girlfriend out for a bit!". Tears of laughter were coming from Miriam's eyes, until she eventually stopped to take a breath. "I-I'm sorry, I just didn't think I'd see you so bashful after I thought I already knew you well enough. You're always approaching people and pushing their buttons, but I never figured you'd be the shy sort when it comes to something as small as this."

With a short "Hmpf!" and a pout in response, Karin simply stormed off and headed over to the next house, her cheeks still colored in a bright red. Once more, she knocked, and from the sound of things, it seemed like somebody was actually at home this time around. Neither Miriam nor Brian really paid attention to it however, prefering to just wait things out in front of Albert's house and maybe think a little about how they'd try to get him into the guild, assuming he would need a little push to join.

"Excuse me, would it perhaps be possible for the two of you to make way? I need to go through here, so, well... I'd greatly appreciate it if you wouldn't block the way here."

Without either of them noticing, a young-looking boy, probably no older than 16, managed to get behind Brian and was now standing close to him, trying to get their attention by tapping Brian's shoulder. "Oh, sure, sure. Sorry 'bout that." was all that Brian muttered as he stepped aside, allowing the boy to pass. A quick glance revealed him to not be an Earthlain like the three of them, due to a pair of wolf-like ears sitting firmly on the top of his head. He was just about to open the door to Albert's house, when Karin took a glance to her right while waiting for the neighbor to come out. She wasn't prepared at all for the sight in front of her eyes.

"C-c-cuuuuute!"

With a well-timed jump, she went to the other side of the fence, immediately glomping the young boy as he was about to grab the door knob – all under the confused stare of the neighbor, who finally came out and was about to greet the guest.

"I didn't think people as cute as you were actually in this district! Let me hug you please! So warm and cuddly..." The boy, visibly distressed, barely managed to raise his arm, perhaps to notify the strangers he just met to help him out before he couldn't breathe anymore.

"Is... is this how she always reacts, Miriam?" Miriam just briefly nodded, rushing over to Karin in order to get the two of them separated for the time being. "You have no idea, Brian..."

It took a few minutes and a decent amount of reassuring words for the boy, but eventually, Brian and Miriam managed to get the two of them apart, on the cost of Miriam letting Karin hug her in such a fashion instead. Something that Karin didn't seem to terribly mind, even if it meant that one obvious fact completely slipped her mind – that cutie just tried to enter Albert's house!

"Sorry you had to endure that. My friend here's the impulsive type when she sees something she considers cute, so just take it as a compliment or something and then forget about it if it bothered you." He offered his hand for a handshake as apology, an offer that the boy took. What greeted Brian was a strong, firm grip that belied the stature of a boy, and immediately had him muster the boy in an inspecting manner.

"It's... it's alright. I would be lying if I said that didn't give me a scare, and I would also be lying if I said that being called 'cute' didn't bug me, but then again, it must be tough to babysit somebody like her, huh? It's all water under the bridge. If you'd please excuse me though, I'd like to actually enter my home now. I still have work to do for today."

For what it mattered, the boy's tone was more mature than what one would expect from somebody looking his age, but that didn't really bother Brian all that much. In fact, his mind was more busy connecting a few dots – the fact that this kind of handshake definitely wasn't coming from a Therian from the limited experiences he had with them, but rather from a race he was already more familiar with. And the fact that he wanted to enter his house could only mean...

"You're a sentinel, aren't you? Well, a mixed breed anyways. Albert, 20 or 21 years old, currently looking for a guild to join, right?"

Now THAT got the attention from all three persons present around him.

"Eeeeeh? That cutie's the one we're looking for? I'm honored you want a cutie like him to join our guild, but look, that Therian's no older than 16, and Egar's pretty strict in that he doesn't let people below 16 even apply for an Explorer job!" And with her voice trailing off into a whisper, she added an "But I wouldn't mind having somebody huggable in the guild, of course...", one that she hoped would only be heard by Miriam. Her reaction was similarily disbelieving, first looking over to the boy, then to Brian, then to the boy once more, as if something beyond her comprehension was just uttered. Only the boy seemed to be mostly composed, although with a surprised expression on his face.

"19, actually, I'm surprised you could tell. What gave it away? You're the... let me think, third person who actually spotted the difference? Ah, but where are my manners. Since you are here on guild business, let me introduce myself. I am Albert, son of Nils."

* * *

"I see. So you actually have some prior experience with Sentinel, mister Brian? That explains quite a bit. Is Kibagami doing well these days? I have never met him, but father would always tell me stories about him whenever he returned from his travels."

The four of them were sitting around a table in Albert's living room, dozens of books filling the shelves around them. After Brian introduced himself, Karin and Miriam to Albert, stating that they were here on guild business (while forgetting to mention what their roles in the guild actually were), he invited the three of them in, thinking that it'd be much more suitable for a chat than just standing on the street. Small talk was exchanged, and before either of them knew it, Brian and Albert ended up in a discussion about Sentinels themselves, something that the two of them actually knew about. Miriam and Karin just glanced at each other from time to time, not quite being able to follow the conversation, but happy nonetheless that Brian already seemed to have something in common with Albert – the easier it would be to recruit him into their guild afterwards, after all.

… but who could have known that a quarter Sentinel almost completely looks like a Therian, just aging slower and having a stronger grip? Brian said something about how it was because of the pride of the Sentinel, asserting their beastly heritage with a strong and firm greeting, while Therians tried to match the strength of their partner or something. They still didn't get how much of that was actually true and how much was just made up on the spot, but Brian seemed to have some luck with his shot into the dark, which was more than either of them could claim at this point in time, especially after Karin's rather... eccentric first impression. As she was looking through the room, not being able to understand what they were talking about and therefore needing some other way to pass her time, Karin's gaze lingered over the titles of the books in the shelves. Titles like "The royal family of Armoroad – a primer", "Introduction to the Radha: The political system of Etria", "War of the Despot" and "Folklore of Lagaard: The castle in the heavens." quickly gave it away that above anything else, he was a fan of the dry stuff. The really, really dry stuff that would make most people fall asleep out of boredom. But then again, it seemed better than nothing, so Karin got up, walked up to a shelf, and pulled out a few random books in order to look at the covers and the summaries at the back. As long as she'd put them back where they belong to, she wouldn't be disturbing or distracting anyone with it, wouldn't she?

"Yeah, Kibagami's doing just peachy. It's been a bit more than a year since I've met him, but sis writes about him in her letters too, so it looks like he's in good health. Still instructing the younger Sentinels now that they have moved from the Golden Lair to Tharsis. Lively folks, the lot of them. Very friendly, always ready to lend a helping hand, and in general just easy to get along with. He did tell that a couple of Sentinel were actually travelling around the world to document history from an outsider's point of view or something, but I never actually thought I'd meed a descendant from one of those."

Miriam was listening without saying a word, trying to memorize the information about Sentinel for future reference – she did want to learn about other races, so what stopped her from learning about one that wasn't native to Iorys? Karin however didn't seem to care quite as much, or if she did, she didn't let it show at all. Instead, she pulled out book after book, only to push it back into the shelf a few seconds later. She went from "A guide to the murals of the Abyssal Shrine" by a certain Amber Field, a name she was pretty certain she heard in school somewhere when they talked about scientists, to "The end of Armoroad's royal bloodline", a book that seemed to be the autobiography of a man called 'Seyfried of Armoroad'. Neither of them seemed to be relevant to her interests however, so they too went back to where they came from. Did this boy have ANY normal books at all?

"That's a relief to hear. I know we Sentinels live longer than average, especially the pureblooded ones, but father always made it sound as if Kibagami already reached an advanced age. Perhaps he simply wanted to brag in front of me a little, or maybe he actually is already pretty old for a half like father. But... I do not think that you have come here for a chat about the Sentinel, am I right with that assumption? You mentioned coming on behalf of the guild, Which sounds to me as if somebody actually took note of that application after a year? Well, I am interested in the terms. Please, do fill me in about you want in the labyrinth, what your guild stands for. Do not hesitate to ask me whatever you need as well, and I'll try to answer to the best of my ability, mister Brian."

Brian simply laughed nervously, trying to shrug off the formality of the boy. He wasn't exactly good at dealing with imposing types like Egar, he already knew that much, but he never really expected to be so bad at dealing with a guy as overwhelmingly polite as Albert either. "Just Brian is fine. I'm not that much older than you anyways, just four years, give or take. Feels weird to be adressed like that by somebody who's more than half my age."

Albert simply nodded, agreeing to the request. "Brian it is, then." Brian turned his attention to Karin and Miriam for a moment, waited for either of them to nod in confirmation (which came from Miriam in the end, considering that Karin seemed to browse through the books), and finally spoke up again.

"Well then. We, as in Karin there, Miriam and me, formally want to scout you for the Accord guild. We don't really have one goal that unites us though. I simply want to step into the unknown, Karin there wants to make Miriam happy or something, and Miriam is just in for the ride from the look of things. So it's not like we desperately want to become famous, strike it rich, or whatever else some new guilds might think off. Well, at the very least it's secondary for me. I haven't known Karin and Miriam there for long, but they don't strike me the type for it either. And when we were looking for new applicants, Miriam came across your name and thought that you'd be an asset to our guild. Somebody who's looking at the bigger picture and brings the brains with him. Or, well, more than the average person does. Even if you join us, we'd still be missing a Botanist before we can start exploring, but it'd bring us one step closer to it. So, if you'd excuse me for a moment, but there's something I need to do right now..."

Standing up from his seat, he walked behind Karin, put a hand on her shoulder, and spoke up. "Isn't it about time you actually interview him? This is your guild, I don't see why I have to do all the work when you're the one in charge at the end of the day." Karin just looked back at Brian, three books called "Untold Stories: The Fall of Gotham", "Untold Stories: The Millenium Girl" and "Untold Stories: The Fafnir Knight" in her hands. She finally found SOMETHING normal among all this collection of scientific mumbo-jumbo, only to be pulled back to work by Brian. "Fiiiiiine. You win this one, Brian."

And Albert simply looked at them, his mouth wide open in shock as he pointed at her. "T-t-that one's the leader? N-not you, Brian?". At the back of his mind, he was thinking that this had to be a joke, but he kept it to himself, as was proper.

"Well, you heard the man. The name's Karin, but you already knew that. I've got only one question for you. Nothing complicated or philosophical, since that doesn't mean much in the labyrinth. There's only one question that I'd like to ask you: Do you think that you've got it in you what it takes to brave the labyrinth?"

And once more, Albert was commenting the events in front of him at the back of his mind. _"Don't just skip over this, it's important! This girl is hopeless... thankfully Brian seems to have a good head on his shoulders, even if I can't read the other girl. Okay, deep breath. Albert. Deep breath. It's going to be okay, Brian should have that guild under control..."_

"I do think I have the skills for it. I admit, picked my class as a Rover out of pure convenience. As a Sentinel, picking up sounds is easier for me, as does bonding with animals, in my case a hawk. In that sense, I figured that becoming a Rover would be the shortcut to the job. It does require some strength, but nothing a Sentinel couldn't handle, good observation and knowledge, and while I do think it is rude to think too highly of oneself, I am convinced that at least in these categories, I will not lag behind. If this is what you think means 'suited to the labyrinth', then yes, I am suited to it. Is there anything else required of me?"

Karin glanced over to Miriam, who shook her head. Then to Brian, who also shook her head. "Well, I don't think so. Assuming you don't have any other questions about us or our guild, I don't see any reason not to welcome you into Accord. How about it?"

There was a question at the back of his mind. One that wasn't really important, not at all, but still had him thinking a little bit. But could he simply ask like that without appearing rude? Visibly agonizing over it, Albert suddenly felt a pat on his shoulder, one that came from Brian.

"No reason to be afraid. Just ask, we won't bite or anything. We'd be working together in the future if you join after all, so there's never too many questions."

"Well, this doesn't really concern the guild or anything, but I would be lying if I said that this doesn't concern me a little bit." Stating that, Albert pointed at Brian's arms. "Just... what is up with all these bruises? It looks like you got quite the injuries, so wouldn't it be better to rest a little before thinking about the labyrinth? How do you even get that much? I get that you traveled to Iorys by foot, but the surrounding areas shouldn't be that dangerous..."

Miriam, who had been so quiet throughout their entire meeting, took the opportunity to speak up in that instance, joining Albert's curiousity. "Actually, I kind of wanted to know too. You just mentioned that you had some bad luck, but no details or anything." Even Karin couldn't hold back an expression that screamed _"I want to know, share some juicy bits!"_ , so that Brian could only shrug.

"It's not much of a big deal, really, so I figured I wouldn't need to talk about it. So, the night before arriving in Iorys, I happened to sleep out in the open. And well... that just happened to be the land of a Celestrian farmer I was sleeping on. Didn't see the sign that said I'd be entering his territory, and got mixed up with a thief that has been making the rounds lately when I got up. Let me tell you, those guys may look weak, but you wouldn't guess how far they could launch pebbles with their magic, or how much force there is behind those. Thank the gods they weren't exactly the most accurate ones, and that the armor blocked most of the impact. But hey, it's just some bruises. No big deal."

And once more, Albert's mouth was wide open in shock, with him quickly correcting his opinion of Brian at the back of his mind. _"I take everything back. That guy has NO sense of danger. That guild is going to die a horrible death in the labyrinth with him and Karin in charge, isn't it? God, how to best get out of this..."_

"W-well, I see! That can happen on a bad day, I suppose. People make mistakes once in a while, so don't take it to heart too much, mister Brian." Noticing that Albert reverted back to calling Brian mister, Karin gave him a sceptical look, assuming that Brian said something to displease Albert, or at the very least something that made him want to distance himself from the guild again. She knew that if they were to push him any further, he'd simply reject them outright, and in that instance that'd be it, no fourth guild member. Looking at Brian, she simply shook her head, then took a pen from a nearby shelf and wrote down an adress, handing the note to Albert.

"I think for today that's enough. You said that you wanted to get some work done before you let us in, right? Think it through a little. Even if you do join us right away, we would still be looking for a fifth member of our guild, so take your time to ponder about your options. You do strike me as somebody with a good head on their shoulders, so if you feel like working with us, please come to visit us at our lodgings at any time. Miriam, Brian, let's go. We've kept him occupied for long enough." Considering the serious tone that Karin suddenly took on, compared to her usual happy-go-lucky attitude, neither of them was able to object – after all, as the guild leader she was the one who would make the decisions in the guild.

"Well, you heard her, Albert. Sorry to show up unannounced and then just leave again without wrapping things up, but if that's the way Karin wants to go at it, I'll consent to it. Would be happy to have a Sentinel at my side, but don't feel pressured or anything. We'll be waiting for you, that's all." Brian once more offered his hand, which Albert once again took – more tentatively this time around, though still with the strong and firm grip that he had the first time. Karin and Miriam soon followed suit with shaking Albert's hand, before they were guided out again. It was a partial success, is what Brian figured. They didn't manage to wrap things up, but he was certain that Albert would come to them, no questions asked. From the impression he got of him, he seemed like a reliable person who wouldn't leave others behind.

Albert however simply watched them depart, looking at them from the window until they were out of sight, the exhaustion suddenly catching up to him. "Just what did I get myself into there?"

* * *

"Come in, it's open!" A pained scream could be heard from the very same room shortly after the message, but Albert wasn't bothered by it in the slightest. That happened in this clinic. It was a mystery to him how she managed to get patients at all with her way of treating them, but for some reason, a small number of people still came. On his shoulder, there was a falcon, looking at the clinic that was familiar to it at this point with disinterest. Much like Albert, the scream didn't even startle it anymore – all of that was common in this clinic, after all.

"Good boy, Ciel. Don't worry, it'll just be the regular check-up from Rita, then you'll be able to take off again." Sitting down on a chair in the waiting room, Albert held out his arm so that Ciel would be able to rest on it instead, seeing how he didn't want to have the weight of his falcon on his shoulder the entire time. With a short screech, it quickly moved to the arm without making much of a fuss, pecking at Albert's jacket for a moment, spreading its wings, and then calming down again to simply sit on there quietly. A pained "Please stop, that's enough!" could be heard from the doctor's office, followed by a woman screaming "Then don't get injured next time, friggin' nitwit! Take your health a bit more seriously or I'm going to step it up by another notch next time! Give up the alcohol, and the tobacco as well while you're at it, you damn geezer!". But that too was common in this clinic, considering the doctor's general... temperament.

"Must be nice to be a falcon, huh Ciel? She doesn't seem to treat animals like that, anyways. Kind of makes you jealous." The falcon simply tilted its head, not quite understanding what its master just told it, but being happy about the attention nonetheless, so it followed up with a happy screech in response. Minutes passed, and eventually, a pale man left the room, his complexion definitely to blame on whatever treatment he just received. Wasting no time at all, a "Your turn, Albert." could be heard from the doctor's office, and as such he got up, the falcon once more moving to his shoulder.

What greeted him was a woman only marginally taller than him, with brown hair and a white coat. Seeing Albert, her sour expression quickly softened into a smile, and she gave him a short nod. "It's that time again, huh? The weeks really seem to fly lately, it only seemed like yesterday when I gave Ciel his last monthly check-up. Come here, Ciel." Patting her own lap for a moment, she invited the falcon to rest there, something the falcon did without hesitation – from the look of things, it was already used to the woman at this point.

As Rita was busy with inspecting the falcon from various angles, Albert's mind started to wander. It has been two weeks since the offer from the Accord guild to join them. From what he heard, the guild still didn't venture into the labyrinth – forget five members, they apparently didn't even find a fourth yet. If it stayed that way, that would be it. Albert could just forget that meeting ever happened, and then go on with his life as usual. The problem was, what if they do go into the labyrinth? With just three members even, maybe? Wouldn't they die a horrible death, one that could have been prevented if he would just man up and join them despite the annoyances? But being a baby-sitter wasn't his job, and even if he could get along with Brian and Miriam, he couldn't imagine himself lasting long around Karin and her so-called "cuteness radar".

"You okay, Albert? You've kind of been clutching your head for a few minutes there already. Feel like talking about it? Can't promise I can do much besides listening, but I'm there if you need me." Before Albert could even answer, she directed an "Open wide, please!" at Ciel, the falcon opening its beak in response without making much of a fuss.

"Might as well, Rita. Remember how I signed up as an explorer?" As Rita looked into the falcon's beak, she nodded. "Yeah, sure do. Wanted to earn some money so that you can actually afford the tuition fees for the place you've been recommended for, while still being able to pay your living expenses. Something happened related to that, then?"

"You... could say that. A guild actually showed up a couple of weeks ago. First guild to actually contact me directly too, so I actually had hopes for them. Turns out the leader's an eccentric of the highest order, the one guy I thought I could rely on has absolutely no sense of danger, and the third member is a girl I can't read at all, so I don't even know whether I can rely on her or not."

Nodding to show that she is listening, Rita was quick to respond with a question, having finished the inspection at this point. "So why not just ditch them? You've waited two years, what's a couple more months to you? You live longer than either of them anyways, so you've actually got some time to spare." She gave Ciel a quick pat on the head, to which it responded with rubbing its head against her arm.

"Well, here's the thing. If they go into the labyrinth into their current state, I'm pretty certain that they're going to die there. Horribly. Maybe not immediately on the first floor, but I can't see them going any further than the third one, if they reach it at all. And... if I'm being honest, if that does indeed happen, I feel like I'm at fault there for rejecting their offer. I know it actually isn't my fault, since rejections do happen in life and that's perfectly fine. It's their own choice if they decide to ignore the risks while they aren't sufficiently prepared. But... you know me. I'm too soft for my own good in that regard."

"So you're going to join them, then?" With that question, Rita immediately came to the heart of the matter – she has become able to read Albert like a book in the few years they have known each other, so his internal dilemma wasn't really all that surprising to her.

"If I'd do that, I'm not sure whether I could actually reign that bunch in either, really..." Before he could really react, Rita was putting a hand on each of his cheeks, looking him straight into the eyes. "Now listen here, Albert. Either you do something, or you don't. You're a good guy, you are actually one of the very few people here in Iorys who can be considered a decent human being. Well, decent person. So don't be so half-assed here, you get me? Do it and pour your energy into it,or don't do it and cut your ties right there instead of endlessly worrying about what ifs that may or may not happen. That's all the advice I can give you, from a friend to another."

Waiting for Rita to back away again, Albert then stretched out his arm again, offering Ciel to rest there once more now that the check-up was finished. "Then how about it if you help me out there and join too? Not like this place here gets that many patients in the first place, what with all the stories about how you treat your patients over here, and..."

"No. No way." Rita cut him off before he could even finish the sentence. "You may be one of my closest friends, and I'm still owing you a couple of favors, but asking me to willing jump into the lion's den of nutjobs is asking for a bit too much, now isn't it?"

"Hm. You know, from what I remember, Syrik did have a couple of interesting new things that he picked up from a Lagaardian merchant recently. What was it again? The stiff skin of a Basilisk, and the woven thread of an Arachne? Apparently a new guild in Lagaard recently hunted down both of those, and it seems like quite a couple of doctors are currently fighting over the limited quantities that are floating around. You know, to research medical applications for it. I am pretty certain that I asked Syrik to reserve these for me for another day or two, before the price will rise dramatically again..."

Rita's smile became a bit more strained upon hearing this, but if anything, it looked like she was enjoying this – after all, it was one of the rare moments during which her friend actually showed some genuine spine.

"Now aren't we the crafty little negotiator, Albert. Let me tell you that my sanity is weighted higher than those two goods, no matter how high they are. You'd need something as high-quality as a chaos feather from the Iwaoropenelep living in the outskirts of Tharsis on top of what you just offered before I'd even consider the offer. Now, from what I do know, Syrik doesn't have those in stock, so what are you going to offer up instead?"

Taking out a small notebook from the pocket of his jacket, Albert quickly flipped through a couple of pages before coming to a stop. "Chaos feather, chaos feather... ah, there it is! Still in stock at the Iorys branch of Napier's Firm. They used to be a lot bigger so it's surprising they still have branches outside of Armoroad, but they do have some in stock right now. They're still owing me a bit, so I could get you that and a damascus claw on top of it as a bonus. That enough to get your consent?"

Bursting out in laughter, Rita immediately shook his hand. "You and your contacts got me good this time, Albert. Alright. This here takes a woven thread, a stiff skin, a chaos feather, a damascus claw and your remaining favors with me as payment, and that's a special friend discount you're getting there. Granted, I need to close my clinic for a time then, but nothing that can be done about that. So sure. If it's bugging you that much, I'll try to get those Accord guys in line together with you."

At this point in time, neither Rita nor Albert knew just how big of a mistake they just made.

A few hours later, in front of the guild lodgings of Accord. After finishing the examination of Ciel, Albert and Rita parted ways for a bit, in order to meet again later and join up with that Accord guild. Everything scenario was being accounted for, or at least they thought that way. It would be no problem for Rita to get registered as an explorer, and the guild would then have the Botanist that it still needed. The two of them would be able to get some common sense, if everything would work out correctly. Steeling their nerves, Albert and Rita therefore entered the building...

"Karin!" A man that Albert immediately recognized as Brian held out his arms in front of him, shouting the names of the guild leader at the top of his lungs.

"Brian!" The woman named Karin came into sight from the other side of the room, holding her arms out in much the same way as Brian did.

"KARIN!" They got closer to each other, and started hugging.

"BRIAN!" Going by how loud the two of them were, neither probably noticed yet that they actually had visitors yet.

Rita could only look at Albert, her gaze saying more than words ever could. _"Please do not tell me that this is actually contagious, or I'm going to regret ever taking up your offer on this."_ Albert's glance didn't give her any hope – all she could read out of it was _"Sorry, I'm so sorry Rita!"_

But okay. She could manage this. Those two looked like complete and utter idiots to her, but she was certain that she could drill some common sense into them despite all that. That's when she walked in from behind them, her arms stretched out as well.

"JENETTA!" Jenetta, whose inn was just nearby, was inevitably attracted to the noise from the guild lodgings, and couldn't help but to join in on the fun. Brian and Karin were quick to notice, turned to her, held out their arms, and simply replied with a loud "JENETTA!" before it developed into a group hug.

… and Rita's right eye was already visibly twitching from anger at this point.

"Say, Albert? You DO have a spare key to my office, don't you?"

Albert knew that he would not like what Rita was about to say, but nodded regardless, knowing that it would be best to not incur her wrath while she was in that kind of state.

"Please, be a dear and rush over there, since you are the faster one among us two. I want you to go into my office and fetch me a vial from there. You cannot overlook it, it is labeled as 'Muskoid Pollen'. We need to stop this from spreading before all of Iorys loses their minds, on the double."

Guild life just got a tad more interesting for the Accord guild, from the look of things.

* * *

 **Author's note:** After the first two chapters mostly served to introduce Brian, Karin and a bit of Miriam (it's just not her turn to shine that much yet), it's time for the other two members of the starting five to make their appearance - the Sentinel Rover Albert (a Therian gameplay-wise, but definitely not story-wise) and the foul-mouthed Earthlain Botanist Rita (who's Brouni gameplay-wise, but yet again definitely not story-wise). That core group will remain until the second stratum, at which point a sixth member will join, so there'll be plenty of time time to get familiar with those five first. Brian and Karin are very much the goofballs of the guild, Albert and Rita are both playing the straight man to varying degrees, while Miriam is a balancer of sorts.

In other notes: Yes, I had plenty of fun when it came to cramming in as many references about what kind of books Albert would read as I could think of. Most of them are easy to understand with simple knowledge of prior games, with only the one book written by an "Amber Field" being an exception. Amber was a character in the Etrian Odyssey 3 headcanon of mine, and one of the very few characters whose in-universe fame actually eclipses Brian's sister (even if by the time A Journey to the Summit takes place, she has already been dead for about seven centuries). There may or may not be further mentions of her throughout the story, and as such I figured it'd be best to make note of her in the author's note, instead of outright omitting her from the very beginning.


End file.
